Is the dream of a four-day work week achievable?

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, hundreds of millions of people worldwide suddenly found themselves working from home for the first time. Since then, calls for more flexible and shorter working hours have continued to gain momentum.Proponents of a four-day week argue that employees, business and society at large would be better off with one less day of work. Those in favour of reducing working hours also say it would help tackle burnout, gender inequality, unemployment and improve general health and wellbeing.However, opponents say reducing working hours could cause economic damage, waken people’s work ethic and put a strain on public services.They’ve also warned that industries like education, medicine and hospitality, which require staff seven days a week, 24 hours a day, cannot simply change their working format.The Netherlands, where the average working week is now 32 hours, is one country where the four-day model is quietly changing people’s lives.How did the Dutch embark on this working model, how successful has it been and what downsides are there to cutting back the working week?Financial Times columnist and reporter Sarah O’Connor discusses the shift in the Netherlands to a shorter working week and examines whether the Dutch model could function in other countries.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Andrew McNair.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.